Joy in Corporate America: RIM and Blackbery Reach Settlement

Posted on March 3, 2006

The millions of Blackberry users have been terrified that a mean judge was going to take their favorite toys away from them -- and with good reason. The small Canadian company NTP, Inc. has been judged to be the owner of the technology that powers Blackberry handheld devices, and that Research In Motion, Inc. ("RIM") stole said technology.

After that ruling, NTP demanded that RIM's Blackberry operations be shut down, which was within its rights. But joy reigned this afternoon as the two companies made peace and the naughty thieving corporate pirates at RIM reached a settlement in which they will pay NTP $612.5 million for licensing its technology.

The little guy wins and gets money. Millions of Blackberry users get to keep their favorite gadget. Everyone wins. Don't you just love a happy ending?